4 Ways to Prioritize Family Even When Life Gets Busy

Last night I had a bit of a breakdown. I was trying to do it all, trying to be super-woman. I wanted every single item crossed off my to-do list and not just crossed off, done to perfection and then crossed off. Well it just wasn’t happening, there wasn’t enough hours and I was quickly getting overwhelmed.

So I decided to take the rest of the night off. I shoved the entire living room mess into the corner, stacked up all the dirty dishes into the sink (thankfully we had used Dixie paper plates so it wasn’t as big of a mess as it could have been!), left the wet clothes sitting in the wash machine and walked away. It was so incredible hard to look the other way, but as soon as I plopped down on the couch my daughter ran up, her arms COMPLETELY full of her favorite toys, and she plopped down not next to me but ON me with the absolute biggest grin and suddenly I forgot about my entire list.

It was that moment that I realized the past few days, weeks, actually months have flown by much too quickly. I HATE being so busy but right now we can’t help it because life is in transition, changes are coming and this is just the preparation we have to push through.

But I’ve officially decided there’s always a good, better, and best way to do things and I want to switch mine over from good to best. So even though I can’t control the busy right now, I’m planning to make 4 changes so I can squeeze in more family time and then make the very most of that family time. Sometimes it’s quality over quantity.

I read a quote recently that nails it on the head:

“Any success that happens at the expense of your health, your family or your character is not success at all.” — David Willis

4 Ways to Prioritize Family Even When Life Gets Busy

1. Add your family to your to-do list.

And not just anywhere, make sure it’s nice and big at the VERY top. This way after spending 3 hours just hanging out with your family you won’t feel like you got nothing done, instead you get to cross something off your list, the most important thing will already be accomplished! There’s something incredibly therapeutic about crossing things off a list and will make you even more motivated for your next tasks.

2. Leave the house.

Go out to eat, pack a picnic in the park with Dixie paper products, or even just go for a walk around the block with the family.

This allows you to get away from your to-do list (the kitchen mess, the laundry, the bills) so you can enjoy your family without the in-your-face reminders of how much you still have to do.

3. Involve your family in your list.

This is my favorite one because it kills two birds with one stone. Not only get your list done faster because you’ve recruited more help but also get to spend time with your favorite people while you’re working on your tasks!

I often let my daughter “help” me cook in the kitchen. Ok, I realize this one may not actually be a huge time saver (in fact, let’s be real – it probably makes things take longer!). But, if our goal with saving time in the kitchen is so that we can have more time with family, then bringing the family into the kitchen still accomplishes our main task. Invest in paper plates and cups, so you aren’t worried about them breaking precious china, and then set them loose!

My daughter was SO excited about these 2 ounce Dixie cups — she squealed when we opened the package and we had a blast building as a family and making memories before and after dinner!

4. Streamline your to-do list.

Circle the items on your list that take up the bulk of your time and figure out a better/faster way to accomplish these tasks. For example:

• Is meal planning taking up a lot of time? Consider trying a 10 meal rotation for a while. Once you have your ten meals and a rough grocery list you’ll be able to repeat these meals every two weeks saving yourself a nice hunk of time! You might even consider cooking double of each meal, freezing and eating freezer meals the following 2 weeks!
• Save time on dishes. Use Dixie products, like plates, cups, or utensils, to eliminate the time you spend doing clean up! It’s so common sense, but if you’re anything like me, you might just not think of it when planning a big get-together. Dixie has some of the sweetest patterns on their products, so your dishes can double as part of the decor! I always stock up when I go to the store!

Family time doesn’t have to be long, it doesn’t have to be complicated. It just has to be prioritized. And then making the most of the time you have together. Making sure you’re really present when we’re hanging out with our kids.

Taking breaks to relax with my family, although it seems counter productive will hopefully become the motivator and the push to complete the rest of your tasks as streamlined and quickly as possible.

I’m really, really hoping that making these changes is going to free up enough time for me to kick my feet up, eat more of my favorite dessert, watch TV with the hubs AND have my daughter bury me in her favorite toys (while she begs for a few bites of my dessert) night after night or at least every other night until we get past this busy stage. Quality family time is the best! Thanks Dixie for reminding me to “be more here” with my kids!

So tonight, friends, go gather around your loved ones, linger a little longer, and “be more here“. Share with us – How did you embrace extra time with your family?

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Dixie believes nothing should interrupt family moments.  Gather around your loved ones, linger a little longer, and be more here.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Dixie. The opinions and text are all mine.

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